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Top Tips for Trip Planning with Kids

Travel with kids might seem to be difficult at times but it can be sheer fun and excitement if you do a little planning beforehand and create your itineraries accordingly. Gone are the days when mothers would have postponed their plans of travelling with the thought of handling all the mess which would have been spilled during travel. Thanks to comfortable travel mediums and travel websites that help plan, we can prepare better to explore the world with kids. After all, if travel enlarges your mind, then it does so more for the children as their minds are still imaginative and formative. Let them see the world through their eyes and who can be better guides than parents who know what to instill in the minds of children.

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Here are some of the tips for parents that can help plan and facilitate them better for any travel plans with your loved angels:

1. Inculcate the travel desire in your child
The very first thing which you need to do is to inculcate the travel lust in your child. Tell her/him how travel can help them learn, explore and imagine better. Give them travel magazines or books to read. Or, make them watch cartoon characters that travel. Have you seen Dora? She is really the emblem of the child traveler. Don’t talk about the negative things associated with travel.

2. Let your trip be spontaneous
Don’t trap your child within a strict notion of an itinerary. Ask him/her to make changes to it as they wish. Further, while on travel let your plans to visit attractions be spontaneous. After all, Kids are at their best when left free to explore and imagine. Otherwise, they would be intimidated with the notion of following the strict regimen of travelling.

3. In-the-car activities for kids
If you are travelling by car, it’s important to have fun family activities ready and prepared to ensure that your road trip goes smoothly. You can pack or have each child pack a small bag of handheld goodies: tape, calculators, pipe cleaners, small flashlights, crayons, and paper. Buy some new items such as markers, coloring books, crossword puzzles, etc. Make a list of songs to sing or games to play on the road. You can also get books on CD at most libraries. These are some of the tricks to keep them busy and let them enjoy on their own while the parents can have a snippets of talk in between.

4. Swapping Homes
Planning a family vacation has never been easy as it is today. If you are looking to keep costs down, consider a home exchange. If you swap with another family you can end up with a child-proofed home, toys to play with and insider information on things to do and healthcare services.

5. Choose places where there is something for everyone
Kid-focused theme parks are clichés. Kids are naturally curious and love exploring with their parents, so it’s easy to plan a trip that the whole family will love. Choose destinations that are a combination of historic, entertainment, romantic, and natural so that they can be educated along with all having all the fun that the travel entails.

6. Create the tradition of travel in your family
Children love to form habits and traditions. Even after growing up, we still remember the places visited with our parents. There is a unique emotion attached to that phase of our lives. Build the habit of travelling year after year and let your child revel in those memories for ever. For example, taking a vacation when school has just gotten out can be a reward for hard work that the child can look forward to every year. You can also consider travel traditions that can be easily repeated, yet they should evolve into something different each time as the child grows. The idea is to merge tradition with something new every year.

7. Prior health check up
If you’re going overseas, see your doctor at least two months before you leave to discuss your plans. When making the appointment, mention the ages of your children and ask if they need to come to the appointment; when you go, bring everyone’s vaccination records, and ask the doctor to note down their blood groups for you. If any of your children has a pre-existing medical condition, ask for help in identifying a doctor in your destination who specializes in the same condition. Children under 18 months won’t be given any travel-related jabs.

With some simple tips to follow, travelling with children can add color to yours as well as to children’s lives. It’s not only children who learn during this process but also the parents. So, go and travel together and see the world unravel not just for your child but also for you.